Opinions
Opinions are published weekly as Letters to the Editor, Commentaries/Op-Eds (an authority on the subject), or Editorials (by the publisher or a chosen guest). Local opinions are encouraged. Send your letter to editor@mountaintimes.info. Your full name and town of residents must be included for publication. We ask that you keep it to under 400 words if possible.
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Writers
Sen. Williams—we will not ‘get over it’
January 15, 2025
Dear Editor, The new vice-chair of Senate Natural Resources, Terry Williams, kicked off the legislative session with a rude and dismissive response to a constituent’s concerns about trapping. A constituent wrote Williams a polite, lengthy email outlining various concerns with trapping—Williams’ response: “Get over it...” Sure, Williams lists trapping as one of his recreational pastimes on the Legislature’s…
Vermont’s housing crisis: A call for decisive action
January 15, 2025
By Miro Weinberger Editor’s note: Miro Weinberger is a former mayor of Burlington (2012-2024) and a former affordable housing developer. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Taubman Center. Abundant housing is the cornerstone of an affordable, vibrant, and inclusive Vermont. Yet today, that vision of our beloved state is at risk…
Vaccines are our lifeboats
January 15, 2025
Dear Editor, Dreaded diseases that we have forgotten about because vaccines have eliminated them are threatening to return. Along with public health and sanitation efforts, vaccines are the single most lifesaving interventions in the history of medicine. Before vaccines, 10% of infants were dying of what are now preventable diseases; 30%-40% of children did not…
Overcomplicated or simple, the message must still deliver
January 15, 2025
Dear Editor, Since the November election, many Vermont Democrats have been reflecting on the results and lessons learned. To some, a significant problem was messaging. A funny thing about Democrats is that we often can’t stop explaining everything. “If only we could explain [insert idea/program/policy here] in a way that people could really understand, they…
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Just saying ‘no’ is not an effective or affordable agenda
January 15, 2025
By Angelo Lynn Editor’s note: Angelo Lynn is the editor and publisher of the Addison Independent, a sister paper of the Mountain Times. In a written statement released the opening day of the 2025 legislative session and a day ahead of his fifth inaugural address, Gov. Phil Scott encouraged Vermont residents to watchdog the Legislature…
“Recalculating…Recalculating”
January 15, 2025
Before Apple Play and phone navigation apps, we had a Garmin (we referred to it as Gladys) to help us with directions to unfamiliar destinations. If we made a wrong turn, Gladys would start saying, “Recalculating...”To make it more annoying, Gladys would keep repeating it until we got back on track. The message was clear:…
We won’t forget Vermonters
January 8, 2025
Dear Editor, More than any post-election period that I can recall, Vermonters remain heavily engaged since November’s election. So engaged that many want to know why the problems highlighted on Nov. 5 haven’t already been fixed: education property taxes, housing affordability and availability, healthcare costs, public safety, and the Clean Heat Standard. This urgency, like…
Vermont Saves makes saving for retirement an easy resolution
January 8, 2025
Dear Editor, As we welcome the New Year, many Vermonters set resolutions to build new skills, improve their health, or spend more time with loved ones. This year, let’s add a resolution that really pays off: saving for retirement. Saving for retirement can be daunting, especially for Vermonters living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to…
Common ground: Working together to address Vermont’s affordability crisis
January 8, 2025
By Amy Spear and Megan Sullivan Editor’s note: Amy Spear, Killington, is the president of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. Megan Sullivan, Chittenden, is the vice president of government affairs for the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. Each year, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce outlines its legislative priorities with one focus in mind: creating the conditions…
End funding of religious schools
January 2, 2025
Dear Editor, Thanks to G. Gregory Hughes for his Dec. 18 letter, “The dictates of conscience in Vermont.” Mr. Hughes identifies a fundamental flaw in our laws: they allow spending tax money on religious schools. He also suggests a sensible solution to the problem: eliminating state expenditures on all private or religious schools. To paraphrase…
Resolutions for pet owners
January 2, 2025
Dear Editor, As we think about the new year, we often ponder the positive changes we want to make for ourselves, but why stop there? Remember your furry companions: you can make many easy resolutions to bring you happiness and enrich your pets’ lives. Just like us, pets need regular exercise to stay healthy. Do…
New Year’s resolutions for all Americans
January 2, 2025
By Sen. Bernie Sanders Yes. In the wealthiest country on Earth, let us Make America Healthy Again. Let us go forward together to lead the world in terms of life expectancy, quality of life, and human happiness. But let’s be clear. To accomplish those goals, slogans and rhetoric will not be enough. We need concrete…
The status quo is failing: A case for single-payer healthcare
January 2, 2025
Dear Editor, As the commercial healthcare industry launches a public defense of itself in the wake of the killing of United Healthcare’s CEO, many point to Canada and the UK as reasons to fear a single-payer healthcare system for Americans. These single-payer opponents ignore why so many of us want a single-payer system. You know,…
Capital Quotes
January 2, 2025
Jimmy Carter, the nation’s 39th president, passed away on Sunday, Dec. 29, two months after turning 100 years old. During President Carter’s brief one-term administration (1977-81), he helped broker peace between Israel and Egypt. Still, his worldwide humanitarian efforts, post-presidency, best define the man who unselfishly gave himself to the nation and beyond. President Carter…
Clean Heat Standard is just too expensive
December 26, 2024
Dear Editor, In last week’s article by James Kent, “House Republicans mull a plan to repeal the environmental Clean Heat Standard,” he incorrectly suggests the cost impact on heating fuel is only a couple of cents per gallon, citing a report by Energy Futures. We wish that were true, but unfortunately it is not. Act…
Affordability and a healthy environment can coexist
December 26, 2024
Dear Editor, As 2024 draws to a close, I resolve to start the new year with optimism and determination to protect what we care about. Our shared connection to the natural world lies at the heart of Vermont’s identity. We love the beauty and bounty of our state. We also know that a healthy environment…
Let’s welcome asylum seekers
December 26, 2024
Dear Editor, Picture a young woman, nine months pregnant, compelled by forces beyond her control to leave home and make an arduous journey with her betrothed to a foreign land, unsure of their welcome there. At this time of year, most of us raised in the Christian tradition would pretty immediately, if unconsciously, imagine this…
Balancing public interests in wildlife policy
December 26, 2024
Dear Editor, Let’s look at the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board and Department and tell me if it needs modernizing. And for those unaware, the Board is a 14-member volunteer group comprising hunters, trappers, hound hunters, and anglers from every county. The Board makes public policy decisions on our shared public wildlife without fair representation…
No victory on property taxes this year
December 26, 2024
By Ben Kinsley Editor’s note: Ben Kinsley has over a decade of Vermont public policy experience working for non-profit organizations. He currently serves as the interim executive director for Campaign for Vermont, a non-partisan advocacy group seeking to grow the state’s middle class. As a property taxpayer, I was relieved to see that the Dec. 1 …
